The following is from our cannabis newsletter, Talking Joints Memo. You can subscribe for free at talkingjointsmemo.com and read the latest installment in its entirety HERE.
Is your head still spinning from the nonsense and shenanigans on Beacon Hill? Ours too, but of course that doesn’t mean it’s time to stop sharing critical info. This installment of Talking Joints Memo packs in way more links than usual, as this has arguably been the busiest stretch of day-after-day cannabis news since November.
We’re giving you a choice this week. If you want to quickly catch up on the latest news about how rival House and Senate rewrites of the Massachusetts marijuana bill are being negotiated behind closed doors by a ridiculous, unfit, and arbitrary group of lawmakers—who are supposed to emerge with a compromise by the end of this week—go straight to the “HELPFUL HEADY LINES” section and dig in.
If you want to retrace all the nitty gritty nuggets though, we are also including a “MASS HEADLINE DUMPSTER” with links to dozens of articles that came and went over the past week. Just because they are outdated doesn’t mean the public should forget about the cowardly maneuvers that some pols tried to pull (and in a few cases, that they’re still trying to pull).
But first, a few of the reactions that we heard from advocates in the immediate wake of the shameful House vote:
- From Jim Borghesani, communications director for the Yes on 4 Coalition: “The House repealed and replaced the historic measure enacted by Massachusetts residents last November. They did it with virtually no public discussion or debate. Their bill is wrong on taxes, wrong on local control, weak on social justice and irresponsible on regulatory efficiency. Their proposed regulatory system is structured for the approval of three casino licenses, not hundreds of retail, manufacturing and cultivating licenses. This retrofitted casino bill is a far cry from what voters overwhelmingly approved last year.”
- From Equitable Opportunities NOW!, a “group of advocates and activists concerned with racial equity and social justice in the legalization of marijuana in Massachusetts”: “We are profoundly troubled by the dramatic changes made to the marijuana legalization law that the voters passed last November, specifically a change that allows people with past marijuana convictions and their “associates” to be banned from owning or working in a marijuana business.”
HELPFUL HEADY LINES
Behind closed doors, lawmakers work on plan to rewrite pot law (Boston Globe)
House OK’s bill that would redo recreational marijuana law (AP)
Marijuana Bill Rewrites: What’s in the Senate, House Proposals (FOX 25)
Dueling Plans Split on Pot Taxes, Sales Ban (Eagle Tribune)
House Approves Revamp of Recreational Pot Law (CBS Boston)
COMMONWEALTH CROP REPORT
The Need for Medical Marijuana Delivery in Mass (Marijuana.com)
Bill Opens Door For Public Pot Smoking in Mass (Wicked Local)
Sen. Brownsberger Talks Recreational Weed and SIFs (Boston Herald)
Parents Fear Loss of Medical Marijuana for Seizure Control (Worcester Telegram)
Medical Pot Advocates Fear Law Changes (Gloucester Times)
The Latest Addition to the Themed-Yoga Craze? Yoga and Marijuana (Boston Globe)
Medical Marijuana Advocates Fear Change to Pot Law (Salem News)
ROAD RUNNER
BOSTON
BROCKTON
CAMBRIDGE
- Cannabis-Infused Toga Heads to Cambridge This Summer (Boston Magazine)
FALMOUTH
JAMAICA PLAIN
METHUEN
- Three Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Try Again in Methuen (BostonGlobe.com)
WALPOLE
- Walpole Voters Ban Recreational Marijuana Shops (BostonGlobe.com)
WORCESTER
- Central Mass Has Mixed Views on Marijuana Law Changes (Worcester Telegram)
MASS HEADLINE DUMPSTER
Keller @ Large: Gov. Charlie Baker Weighs in on Tax Issues (CBS Boston)
MA Guts Pot INdustry Protections For People of Color (Cannabisnow.com)
Critics Say House Pot Bill Weakens Diversity Efforts (US News)
Senate Debates Bill to Reform Mass Marijuana Laws (WWLP)
Mass Senate Passes Marijuana Bill (Boston Globe)
Mass Senate Passes Opposing Legalization Bill to House Version (Marijuana.com)
Keller @ Large: Angry Marijuana Advocates Need to Chill Out (CBS Boston)
Mass Senate Proposal Holds Line on Marijuana Taxes (Boston.com)
Mass Senate Continues Work on Recreational Marijuana Bill (CBS Boston)
In Rewrite of Pot Ballot Questions, Senate Has Lighter Touch (Boston Globe)
Mass Lawmakers Eye Consensus on Pot Bill, But Differences Remain (NECN)
House, Senate Pot Bill Differences Upset Marijuana Legalization Supporters (CBS Boston)
Lawmakers Scramble to Finish Pot Legislation (Boston Herald)
Mass Senate Passes Pot Bill (Metro Boston)
Mass Senate Passes Revised Marijuana Bill With Original 12 Percent Tax (Masslive.com)
Mass Senate Passes Bill to Redo Recreational Marijuana Law (NECN)
Mass House Passes Bill to “Repeal and Replace” Voter-Approved Recreational Marijuana Law (Cannabist)
Senate Passes Marijuana Bill Calling for Revisions to Law (USNews.com)
Mass Marijuana Tax More Than Doubles in House-Approved Bill (MassLive.com)
Mass House Delays Vote on Rewrite of Recreational Marijuana Bill (Cannabisbusinesstimes.com)
Mass House Will Reconsider Controversial Rewrite of Cannabis Legalization Bill (Merryjane.com)
Under Pressure, Mass Lawmakers Delay Vote on Recreational Marijuana Revisions (Thecannabist.com)
Pot Advocates Decry House’s Plans to Change Legalization Law (Boston Globe)
Facing delay, lawmakers left with few options on pot bill (Bostonglobe.com)
Not So Fast: The Pot Law Overhaul Just Stalled (Boston Magazine)
Mass Senate Proposal Holds Line on Marijuana Taxes (FOX 25)
Mass Senate Draft Bill Keeps 12 Percent Marijuana Tax (WBUR)
Senate Draft of Mass Cannabis Legalization Bill Keeps 12% Tax (MerryJane.com)
Mass House Delays Vote on Changes to the Voter Approved Marijuana Law (MarijuanaTimes.com)
Protests Expected During Marijuana Debate (WCVB)
Division on How to Amend Marijuana Laws (Sentinelandenterprise.com)
Marijuana Law Debate Postponed on Beacon Hill (Bizjournal.com)
Marijuana Law Rewrite Criticized, DeLeo Postpones Debate (Patriot Ledger)
Mass House Rewriting Pot Bill with Monday Target (Southcoasttoday.com)
NEIGHBORLY NUGGETS
NEW HAMPSHIRE
- Detective: 23-year-old Concord woman stabbed to death over $90 bag of pot (Concordmonitor.com)
- Police: Man Fatally Stabbed Woman Over Half-Ounce of Marijuana (NBC Boston)
MAINE
VERMONT
- Vermont Legalization Deal Likely This Week (Cannabis Now)
NATIONAL NUGGETS
High Times: A Look At Weed Tax Laws Across The Country (Boston Globe)
Legality of Cannabis in Mass, U.S. in Question, While Mexico Moves Forward (Inquisitr)
These 12 States Consume the Most Marijuana (Weedreader.com)
Boxing champion Wilder charged with marijuana possession (Bostonherald.com)
Police Searches Drop Dramatically in States That Legalized Marijuana (NBC Boston)
Study Links Legal Pot with Increase in Car Crash Claims (CBS Boston)
As Pot Comes Out of Black Market, Regulators Face Scrutiny (Boston Herald)
Pa. Needs to Clear the Smoke Around Medical Marijuana Permitting Process (PennLive.com)
Is There Weed Industry Diversity? (MSNBC)
Leafly Interview: Dirty Trickster Roger Stone Talks Cannabis Legalization and Trump (Leafly.com)
Two U.S. Studies Differ Over Effects of Marijuana on Drivers (Reuters)
International Airport in Florida Bans Medical Marijuana (FOX 25)
AP Explains: Sorting Out the Cannabis Conundrum (USNEWS.com)
CANNABIZ CORNER / PRESS RELEASES
Property Values Surge in Boston Thanks to Cannabis Startups (Ireadculture.com)
JUDGE: Only Alcohol Distributors Can Transport Recreational Marijuana to Retailers (Las Vegas Now)
Marijuana Group Says PNC Banks to Close its Accounts Amid Fears of a DOJ Crackdown (Boston Globe)
MariMed Client Opens Nevada Medical Cannabis Cultivation Facility (Globenewswire.com)
Big PhaRma Wants a Monopoly on One of Weed’s Key Medical Compounds (Motherboard.com)
Nevada’s Alcohol Wholesalers Rain On Pots Coming Out Party (Marijuana.com)
Nevada Will Likely See Recreational Cannabis Delay Following Court Ruling (Marijuana Resources)
HelloMD Announces Partnership with Medical Cannabis Provider PharmaCannis (Telecomreseller.com)
Will Regulations Dampen Promo Sales in the Cannabis Industry? (Asicentral.com)
Recreational Sales of Marijuana in Nevada in Limbo (Boston Herald)
This California Startup Wants to Make Online Cannabis Shopping Easier for Coloradans (BizWest.com)
Weed Fraud: Are Weed Testing Labs Inflating Potency Data to Make More Money? (Vice)
Montana Medical Marijuana Dispensary Owner Sentenced to Federal Prison (Missoulian.com)
Mexico Legalizes Medical Marijuana (Leafly.com)
Dig Staff means this article was a collaborative effort. Teamwork, as we like to call it.
